Last year was the first time since 2016 that the What Hi-Fi? Awards’ CD category included anything other than Marantz’s entry-level and Cyrus’s flagship players. Indeed, Arcam entered the fray with a new mid-range spinner too marvellous to ignore, bringing the category’s winner count to three – yep, the CD category expanded in 2023! It’s perhaps not surprising, then, that this year remains stagnant. After all, based on the recent timeline we’re not due a shake-up in the category until 2030 – and who knows whether the humble CD player will still be alive, let alone kicking, then.
Our most affordable winner is once again the Marantz CD6007 (below), which combines impressive sound and features with likeably traditional casework, making it an easy recommendation for anyone looking to dust off and rediscover their CD collection without spending too much (anyone but an owner of the preceding CD6006, that is, as the CD6007 was a rather modest update on it).
CDs might be experiencing a soft revival (it’s hardly as potent as the vinyl one), yet we haven’t seen an explosion of new players this year exactly, and those we have come across have typically been higher-end affairs, such as the excellent TEAC VRDS-701 and Esoteric K-05XD. We did like Cambridge Audio’s CXC transport too… but a CD transport Award winner in 2024 seemed a little excessive.
We digress. Going up a price bracket we get to the Arcam CD5, which is part of the British brand’s 2023-released Radia Series that also spawned the Award-winning A5 and A15 amplifiers and which has doubled in growth this year with the addition of two streaming amplifiers and a standalone streamer. To quote our review, the CD5 is a “tremendously talented player”. And to repeat its conclusion, “there hasn’t been a seriously good, seriously capable and seriously fun CD player of this level in a very long time… the Arcam CD5 changes that.” It’s adequately featured, looks great and has an entertainingly punchy and authoritative sound. A deserved winner a second time round.
We’ve stopped counting how many years the Cyrus CDi player has won a What Hi-Fi? Award (10? 11?) as our premium player of choice. A repeat winner with that many plaudits may not be particularly exciting to announce as a 2024 Award winner, but who knows, if the CD uplift does pick up the pace, perhaps something will come along to beat it next year. Until then, this proven performer still sets the benchmark for entertainment and insight.
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See our long list of the best CD players, recommended by our experts
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